Turkey's electronic music community unites to help earthquake effort

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  • Music venues in Istanbul and Ankara are storing emergency supplies to distribute to affected areas.
  • Turkey's electronic music community unites to help earthquake effort image
  • Turkey's electronic music community has come together to support relief efforts after two earthquakes shattered the south-eastern region and parts of northern Syria. The major earthquakes hit a magnitude of 7.8 and 7.7 on the Richter scale last Monday, February 6th, devastating the Turkish provinces of Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Gaziantep and Adıyaman. They also hit Syria's Idlib, Aleppo, Latakia and Tartus regions. The current death toll stands at more than 21,000. Many music venues in Turkey are now operating as warehouses to store and dispatch urgent supplies to the affected areas. The likes of RX Istanbul, Klein Phönix, Klein Harbiye, MiniMusikhol, Kite and Zorlu PSM have all contributed to the relief effort. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more civilians could lose their lives without the right supplies. The distribution is being run in coordination with organisations such as Ahbap, one of Turkey's biggest NGOs. "The destruction is huge, we expect more than 30,000 dead across an area that's the size of Germany," local artist Nebi Cihan Çankaya told Resident Advisor. "Still all of us are in shock." Istanbul producer Serkan Eles said historic sites that were built thousands of years ago are now unrecognisable. "A big thank you to everyone at this hour," he added. "Our music clubs in Istanbul and other cities are organised and continue to collect donations to be sent to the earthquake region." Aslan Kurgun, AKA Aslandj, who is based in Antalya, isn't working directly with venues but with other groups providing relief. "I help to prepare the aid packages," he told RA. "We deliver these to the municipalities and charities who go to the earthquake areas." In the UK, Turkish DJ Zag Erlat–who runs the vinyl channel My Analogue Journal–is raising money with a record sale in London today, February 10th. All funds will go to supporting the earthquake victims via Ahbap. Find out more on how to attend. In Berlin, arkaoda is hosting a daytime fundraiser on Sunday, February 19th, running from 2 PM through 11 PM. The whole thing will be streamed live on local station Refuge Worldwide and Istanbul's Root Radio. The lineup is TBA. There are also fundraisers planned this weekend at Sameheads, Untertage and Bulbul. Find more details in the listings below.

    Organisations to support

    • Local NGO Ahbap • Non-governmental search-and-rescue operation AkutAl-Khair Foundation for donating tents, food packs and water containers • The Union of Medical Relief and Care Organisations, AKA UOSSMIslamic Relief, a Muslim charity founded in 1984 • Disasters Emergency Committee comprises 15 member charities
    RA is doubling all staff donations to the relief effort. The final amount will be split between Ahbap and our long-term partner Choose Love. We're also exploring more fundraising opportunities. Update, February 10th: This piece was updated to include next weekend's fundraiser at arkaoda in Berlin.




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